Data and information management

SANTA MONICA--Digital Evolution, a leading provider of Web Services Security and Management software, today announced the acquisition of Flamenco Networks, a leading provider of specialized network infrastructure to enterprises that are implementing secure, service oriented architectures. Only weeks after announcing a $15 million Series C Round of funding, the acquisition of Flamenco Networks propels Digital Evolution ahead of all other competitors in breadth and maturity of SOA product offerings and customer base.

SAN FRANCISCO--Esurance, a direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, announced the launch of its new service powered by eStara, Inc. eStara's Push to Talk is a fully-hosted, Voice over the Internet (VoIP) "click to call" service, the most widely-deployed service of its kind in the world. The click to call feature allows Esurance customers to click a button to speak with an Esurance insurance advisor directly from Esurance's Web site, from PC-to-phone or through phone-to-phone calls.

HARTFORD, Conn.--Life insurers suffered a steep decline in gross investment returns over the last five years, led by falling interest rates, corporate defaults, and rating agency downgrades, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting, Inc.

ST. LOUIS--With 120-mile-per-hour winds and devastating force, Hurricane Charley ripped into the Alligator Mobile Home Park in Punta Gorda, Florida earlier in the month. If the destruction wasn't enough, just two weeks later Hurricane Frances hit Florida 's East coast with 100 mile-per-hour winds. RVs were overturned, belongings strewn for hundreds of yards, and in its wake, hundreds of RVers were left homeless and stranded, their lives threatened to come to a screeching halt.

When it comes to e-commerce, insurers have made a lot of progress over the past several years. They've equipped their employees with browser-based policy, claims, and customer service applications. They've developed self-service features for policyholders on their Web sites. And they've rolled out real-time transactions-such as quoting, policy issuance and inquiry-to their agents and brokers.But just as the insurance industry is embracing the Internet and increasingly harnessing its ability to improve productivity and operational efficiency, malicious attacks--which can bring down corporate networks and compromise confidential company and customer information--are growing exponentially.

Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. decided that 2004 would be the year to significantly increase its e-mail sales and marketing efforts. The e-mail program would be part of a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy that would enable the insurer to generate sales for such products as life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, hospital indemnity and medical supplement.In the big picture, the electronic marketing effort was just a fraction of the Omaha, Neb.-based insurance and financial services giant's ambitious multimedia marketing strategy, which includes television, telemarketing and direct mail.

With a legal challenge mounting from industry trade groups, several states that were planning to conduct a multi-state study of credit-based insurance scores have suspended that effort.Instead, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) will appoint a five-member panel to work with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Reserve Board on their federally mandated research into the underwriting practice.

JUPITER, Fla.--Dramatic improvements in underwriting performance by the nation's property and casualty insurers led to the first underwriting gain in nearly seven years. The industry reported a $5.5 billion net underwriting gain in the first quarter of 2004, compared to the $1.1 billion loss reported during the same period a year ago, according to Weiss Ratings, Inc., the nation's leading independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services companies, mutual funds, and stocks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Humana Inc. today announced the filing of applications for five patents in pharmacy and health metrics by its Innovation Center. All five of the patent applications are for Humana's use of innovative information technology applications to engage consumers in health benefits.

BOSTON-- John Hancock has launched a new long-term care insurance (LTCI) program called Corporate Solutions for the small business market to help provide individual LTCI at the worksite in the way that best suits employers' and employees' needs.

EL SEGUNDO--Computer Sciences Corporation today announced the availability of new releases of its life insurance, annuity, property and casualty (P&C) insurance, and reinsurance software components that implement the company's enterprise integration architecture, CSC e4. By using the CSC e4 framework, clients can exploit both the potential of new technologies and the embedded value in their legacy systems.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., one of the country's largest property and casualty insurance companies, has received more than 22,000 claims in the past week for damages from Hurricane Charley. Overall, Nationwide estimates it will receive more than 50,000 claims and losses approaching $400 million.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--A small but growing group of customers are turning to the Internet rather than phone calls or office visits to communicate with their auto insurance provider, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 National Auto Insurance Study released today.

ING has made enhancements to its online services for employer groups. The enhanced services include online reports, online documents, online evidence of insurability and online billing for self-accounting customers.

DAYTON, Ohio-- The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), created by the Maryland State Legislature to provide insurance coverage for the state's most at-risk drivers, has chosen RiskWise solutions from LexisNexis, an information solution provider, to help screen information provided by applicants and claimants in an effort to proactively identify rate evasion and claims fraud.

GREENVILLE, S.C-- RBC Insurance is providing consumers the ability to acquire life insurance in as little as 15 minutes at its Web site located at www.rbcexpressterm.com.

A lot has been made about insurers' attempt to comply with federal regulations, such as The USA Patriot Act and Sarbanes-Oxley, but lost often in the shuffle are the ongoing state-level regulations with which insurers must contend.

NEEDHAM, Mass.-- North American insurers currently are pursuing global expansion at a pace rivaling that of European insurers' entry into US markets in the early 1990s. TowerGroup finds that more favorable economics, key demographic trends and the gradual dissolution of international barriers to entry underscore the high growth possible for U.S. insurers in key emerging markets.

In the legal profession, attorneys refer to it as the "discovery" process where a legal team embarks upon intensive fact-finding to construct its case.At Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., there's a variation of the concept that's beginning to take shape. It's all part of State Farm's attempt to optimize cross-selling opportunities within its multi-product line that spans homeowners, life, annuities and mutual funds, to name a few.

To provide customers with an "ideal buying experience" can sometimes mean practicing what you preach.That axiom is being practiced by business and information technology executives at Amica Life Insurance Co., a Lincoln, R.I.-based provider of term and universal life, annuities and structured settlement insurance products. The "Ideal Buying Experience" is Amica Life's recently launched new business selling program which focused on automating the front-end capability of the carrier's business-from electronic applications and new business submission, to paperless underwriting and automatic issue within its core administration system.